Over the years Microsoft has earned high marks for being “green.” In 2008 the company was named one of the best workplaces for recycling by the King County (Washington) Solid Waste Division. With 50,000 employees, Microsoft knows it can make a significant dent in the waste stream.

Case in point: Next to my desk are two bins, one for garbage and one for recycling. In the kitchen down the hall are more bins, including one for composting, which was added last year to collect new compostable cups, plates, bowls and even silverware and leftover food scraps. At Microsoft, recycling is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to sustainability; you can read more about it and other company initiatives here.

Get your ‘green’ on

At MSN, we’re committed to bringing you timely news about the environment, as well as practical advice and tips on how you can make a difference, big or small, in your own life. Stories with an environmental focus are easy to find on MSN: Just look for the Green logo.

Because being “green” isn’t just about recycling tips and disposing of household hazardous waste, you’ll see “green” stories everywhere on MSN, from the Travel channel to Greetings. (Send someone an Earth Day e-card -- they’re paper-free and free of charge!) For a little fun, see how “green” your kitchen is with this quiz from our Food & Entertaining channel, Delish.

There’s a great sports piece on the most environmentally friendly sports stadiums and FOX Sports’ slideshow of 10 athletes making a difference off the field. And who’s the “greenest” of them all in Hollywood? Check out Wonderwall’s gallery of the most sustainable celebrities.

MSN Autos is a wealth of information about driving “green”: You can read about the 10 cars that get 40+ mpg or join in a message board about “green” cars. Here’s an article to bookmark for sure – Consumer Reports tips on how to get better fuel economy from your car.

Today’s tech toys are known to be energy hogs, so MSN Tech & Gadgets recently posted a helpful article that outlines popular gadgets’ energy consumption, including HDTVs, LCD monitors, laptops and desktops.

And finally, one of the coolest new things on MSN is MSN Green on Twitter. If you’re curious about microblogging, join us over there and see what our Green editors are tweeting about.